ES2701059T3 - Manual dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

Manual drive pump (1) for dispensing a fluid substance contained inside a container (6) to which said pump may be associated, the pump comprising a vessel-shaped body (3) provided at its bottom (3A) of an opening (4) that may be associated with a suction tube (5) inside said container and with a ball (8) housed in a first seat (9) adapted to act as a suction valve, a piston being able to (11) sliding tightly inside the vessel-shaped body as opposed to a return spring (10), extending a hollow rod (12) from said piston, protruding one end of said rod towards the outside of the body with cup shape, housing the hollow rod in a second seat (14) a movable element (16) of a supply valve (14/16) loaded by a spring (18), the pump having an annular bottom or nut (2) to be fixed to said container, the bottom being or tue annular rca provided with a hole (2A) through which said rod passes and means for engaging with said vessel-shaped body, the mobile element of the supply valve presenting a surface at least partially conical (14A) adapted to be coupled with a corresponding surface of said second seat, such that due to the action of said spring, the movable element can fit into said second seat, characterized in that said at least partially conical surface (14A) has an opening (g) between 17º and 22º.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Manual dispenser

The present invention relates to a manually operated pump for dispensing fluid substances, provided with a facilitated operation.

In particular, the present invention relates to a pump that can be associated with a container, in which the fluid substance to be dispensed is conserved.

Several types of manually operated pumps have been known for some time.

EP 1033 174 A2 discloses a pump for manually dispensing liquids under pressure comprising a vessel-shaped body, and a rod, of which a piston part defines a compression chamber closed at one end by a valve formed from a piston. of a ball that can move in a seat in a hollow appendage inside said body, and closed at the other end by a valve element and having a conical part that can be sealed against a conical seat in the stem.

Document EP 0065 214 A2 describes a pump with a particularly simple operation, obtained to be assembled very easily, with a limited cost.

Such a pump comprises a vessel-shaped body having, at its bottom, a hole and a protuberance connected to a suction tube. The orifice obtained in the bottom of the vessel-shaped body is associated with a suction valve, which is obtained by a spherule housed in a suitable seat in said bottom. Such a spherule is held in place by a system of flexible tabs for insertion into the seat.

A piston having a flange adapted to make a seal on the internal surface of the vessel-shaped body is located within the vessel-shaped body. The piston has a step against which a first end of a return spring abuts. A second end of such a spring abuts, in turn, against the bottom of the cup-shaped body in the vicinity of the suction valve.

An internally hollow rod extends from the piston, to drive the pump. A second spherule is contained in the cavity of the stem, said spherule abutting against a suitable conical housing; such second spherule constitutes a pump supply valve. Said second spherule is loaded by means of a main spring interposed between a stop fitting drilled in the upper part of the stem and the spherule itself.

A dispensing plug provided with a cavity for the outflow of the fluid and with a head adapted to be pressed in order to operate the pump is located on the stem.

The cup-shaped body is suitably associated and sealed with an annular nut intended to fix the pump in a container containing the fluid substance that is intended to be dispensed by the pump. When the entire pump, properly associated with a container and under use conditions, is placed in a reduced pressure environment, it has been shown that the supply valve has certain leaks, which are quite problematic.

In order to solve such problem, it has been considered to increase the pressure generated by the spring on the sphere that forms the supply valve. Although this solved the problem of leaks, it introduced a considerably inconvenient factor for the user.

In fact, when increasing the load of the supply spring, the force necessary for the drive of the pump (force to drive, FTA according to its acronym in English) also increases considerably and in such conditions, the dispensing button is too 'hard' Press for dispensing.

The object of the present invention is to obtain a manually operated pump for dispensing fluid substances, which does not leak from the supply valve and which, at the same time, is easy to operate for a user (low FTA).

These and other objects are achieved by obtaining a manually operated pump according to the technical teachings of the appended claims.

Summary

According to one aspect, a manually operated pump is provided to dispense a fluid substance contained inside a container to which said pump may be associated, the pump comprising a vessel-shaped body provided at its bottom with an opening that may be associated with a suction tube inside said container and with a spherule housed in a first seat adapted to act as a suction valve, a piston being able to slide in a sealed manner inside the vessel-shaped body in opposition to a return spring, a hollow rod extending from said piston, one end protruding from the piston. said rod towards the outside of the vessel-shaped body, the hollow rod accommodating in a second seat a moving element of a supply valve loaded by a spring, the pump having an annular bottom or nut to be fixed to said container, the bottom being or ring nut provided with a hole through which said rod passes and means for coupling with said cup-shaped body, characterized in that the movable element of the supply valve has an at least partially conical surface adapted to mate with a corresponding surface of said second seat, in such a way that due to the action of said spring, the movable element can be fitted in said second seat, characterized in that said at least partially conical surface has an opening and comprised between 17 ° and 22 °.

Optionally, said at least partially conical surface has an opening of 20 °.

Optionally, the surface of said seat is at least partially conical, with an opening comprised between 17 ° and 22 °, preferably 20 °.

Optionally, said movable element has, in at least one end part thereof, a step to connect between a conical surface and a narrowing part thereof.

Optionally, said mobile element is functionally symmetrical with respect to a transverse plane (X) thereof, so that it carries out its function both in one direction and in the opposite direction.

Optionally, said movable element has an axial blind hole for lightening.

Optionally, said first seat is in an enhanced position with respect to the bottom of the vessel-shaped body and protruding towards the supply valve.

Optionally, said first seat is obtained in the upper part of an internally hollow cylindrical protrusion, which extends from the bottom of the vessel-shaped body.

Optionally, said first seat has a frusto-conical shape that converges toward the bottom of the vessel-shaped body.

Optionally, the second seat is obtained in a part in which said rod is connected to said piston.

Optionally, the piston and the piston rod are made in one piece.

Optionally, at a free end of the shank, a dispensing plug which acts as a stop for said main spring is fitted, said dispensing plug preferably having a spray nozzle.

Optionally, on the external surface of the rod, in the vicinity of the piston, a gasket adapted to provide a seal when it is butted against said bottom or annular nut is fixed.

Optionally, said bottom or ring nut is made by a plate formed of metallic material and said means for coupling with the cup-shaped body comprise a flange that cooperates with an annular stop obtained at a free end of said vessel-shaped body and or in which said annular stop has a notch adapted to allow air to pass from the outside to the inside of the container, at least when said seal separates from said annular nut, and / or in which the movement of the spherule is laterally limited by said return spring, in the upper part by the lower part of the seat of the supply valve, and in the lower part by the seat of the suction valve.

A further advantage of the present invention is to obtain a pump that can be assembled easily and quickly, without having to present an equipment mounted in an excessively sophisticated manner.

A no less important object of the present invention is to provide a pump that is reliable and durable in its use as well as inexpensive to produce.

The additional features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the manually operated pump, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of the pump of the present innovation, when it is in a rest position (or upper end of travel);

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the pump of Figure 1, when in a lower end of travel position;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a detail of the pump of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 shows a graph of the force to drive a pump similar to that of Figure 1 but when the opening of the conical surface is equal to 15 °;

Figure 6 shows a graph of the force to drive a pump similar to that of Figure 1 when the opening of the conical surface is equal to 17 °;

Figure 7 shows a graph of the force to drive the pump of Figure 1, provided with an opening of the conical surface equal to 20 °;

Figure 8 shows a graph of the force to drive a pump similar to that of Figure 1 when the opening of the conical surface is equal to 22 °; Y

Figure 9 shows a graph of the force to drive a pump similar to that of Figure 1 when the opening of the conical surface is equal to 25 °;

Figure 10 shows a graph of the force to drive the pump of Figure 1, after the first drive illustrated in the graph of Figure 7.

Referring to the figures mentioned above, there is shown a manually operated pump, indicated in a global manner with the reference number 1.

As can be seen immediately from the figures, the pump in question has a very simple structure, and is formed by a very limited number of parts molded in a suitable manner. Therefore, it can be easily assembled.

The manually operated pump 1 is intended to dispense a fluid substance contained within a container 6 (only partially shown), to which said pump may be associated by means of a suitable bottom (2) or ring nut (2), which will be described below in the present specification.

The pump comprises a vessel-shaped body 3 provided on its bottom 3A with an opening 4 that can be associated in a known manner with a suction tube 5 inside said container 6.

From the bottom of the vessel-shaped body, an internally hollow cylindrical element 7 part in the opposite direction to the tube; said cylindrical element 7 presents in its upper part a first seat 9 formed in a substantially frustoconical manner (which converges towards the opening 4, and, therefore, towards the bottom of the vessel-shaped body), in which a spherule 8 is housed. The first spherule 8 and its first seat 9 form a suction valve of the pump 1.

Inside the vessel-shaped body 3, a sealing piston 11 (on the inner surface 3B of the cup-shaped body) can slide, as opposed to a return spring 10 only partially shown and interposed between the piston and the piston. bottom of the body with the shape of a glass. From the piston 11, a hollow rod 12 extends, with one end 12B protruding from it towards the outside of the vessel-shaped body, through the bottom or annular nut 2.

In the present embodiment, the rod and the piston are obtained in one piece, by molding plastic material, preferably made of PE. Advantageously, the piston is provided with a single sealing rim.

The cavity of the rod is connected to a pump compression chamber 15 which is defined by the part of the piston 11 directed towards the bottom of the vessel-shaped body 3, and by the vessel-shaped body 3 itself.

The hollow stem 12, in a part 13 thereof connecting with the piston 11, has a second seat 14 obtained by a wall 140 defining in the lower part an opening 20. Said wall 140 projects towards the compression chamber 15 and defines a substantially frustoconical surface 14A, converging towards said compression chamber, against which a mobile element 16 abuts. Preferably, the frustoconical surface has an opening comprised between 17 ° and 22 °, preferably 20 °.

The second seat 14 and the mobile element 16, which cooperate in a sealed manner, act as a pump supply valve.

It should be noted that the movable member 16 is loaded by a spring 18 placed in the cavity of the stem 12 and having a first end abutting therein, and another end abutting against a surface suitably provided on a button 19 of dispensing fitted into the end 12B of the stem 12. The dispensing button preferably has an insert 21 which acts as a spray nozzle.

The mobile element 16 is better illustrated in Figure 4, in which all its particular characteristics can be appreciated. Preferably, it is obtained by molding plastic material (for example, polyethylene resin marketed by DOW Chemicals under the trade name DOWLEX 2552e, or with a plastic material with a Shore D hardness comprised between 46 and 50, preferably 48, measured according to ASTM D2240) in one piece. As can be seen, the element 16 has an external surface substantially formed by two frusto-conical portions 16A joined in a transverse plane of symmetry X of the element. The symmetry is not perfect, since, as can be seen from the section, the element 16 has a central light 16C constituted, in fact, by a blind hole obtained by means of molding. The hole is particularly useful to prevent suction risks during the molding steps of the movable element.

The frustoconical portions at the ends of the mobile element 16 are narrowed and have a step 16B between the narrowing part and the frustoconical part.

The step is quite useful, since, when the movable element is raised even only slightly during dispensing, the dispensing opening becomes quite wide and allows a considerable flow of product to be dispensed.

The angle and or opening (represented in the figure) defining the conical surfaces, for purposes of the invention, is comprised between 17 ° and 22 °, preferably 20 ° (grad). In fact, it has been verified that this range of opening angles is optimal in terms of the operation of the pump, as will be described hereinafter with the help of the graphs of Figures 5-9.

It should be noted that for such opening angles, the presence of a step 16B is extremely important. In fact, without the step, the smaller the angle of opening of the 'cone', the smaller the opening for the fluid providing the same 'ascent' to the mobile element. The presence of the aforementioned step provides a through opening (between the seat of the supply valve and the moving element) which is wide even in the case of opening angles of the conical surfaces which are quite small, as described.

The 'functional symmetry' of element 16 is very important for assembly. In fact, it does not need to be oriented when it is placed in the seat 14 before the supply spring 18, nor does it matter if it falls on the stem 12 with the opening of the light hole upwards or downwards. With the term 'functional symmetry' in the present text, it is intended that the symmetry of the conical surfaces make the seal in the seat.

The dispensing button 19 has a normal sealing coupling by interference, preferably, with the external surface of the rod 12. It is also provided with a spray nozzle.

As can be seen from the drawings, a gasket 22 is fixed on the external surface of the rod 12, in the piston 11. Said gasket is placed in an annular or elongated groove 23 suitably obtained on the surface of the rod.

Said gasket 22, which according to its height also allows an adjustment of the stroke of the piston, and, therefore, of the volume of the compression chamber, when the pump is in a rest position (shown in figure 1) is at the top against the bottom nut 2 (or ring nut). The bottom has a hole 2A through which the rod 12 passes and a neck 2B joined at 2C to an annular stop 26 obtained at a free end of said vessel-shaped body 3.

It should be noted that the annular stop 26 has a notch 26A adapted to allow the passage of air from the outside to the inside of the container (ventilation), at least when said seal separates from said bottom (i.e. during the travel of the container). piston).

Advantageously, the bottom or ring nut 2 is simply formed by a thin plate of metallic material, preferably aluminum, shaped and folded in a suitable manner during assembly in order to block the pump 1 in the container 6.

As can be seen in figure 1, the annular nut or bottom (which in such a representation is not yet locked in the container 6) has a cylindrical part that surrounds the neck 6A of the container and that once properly deformed, engages a Lower cut on the neck of the bottle.

Between the container 6 and the ring nut or bottom 2, a conventional sealing gasket 27 is inserted in a suitable manner.

As can be clearly seen in figure 1, which represents the pump in the rest position, the second seat 14 and the mobile element 16 are configured in such a way that, when the element 16 is in the closed position, it projects partially from the own second seat 14 towards the bottom of the vessel-shaped body (inside the compression chamber). Advantageously, in the embodiment shown, it is the narrowing end portion of the movable element that protrudes from the seat 14.

When the piston is at the end of the stroke (see Figure 2), the movable member 16 (and specifically a portion thereof projecting from the second seat 14, corresponding substantially with the tapering part) comes into contact with the spherule and rises in opposition to the main spring 18. In this way, the opening of the supply valve is caused.

This allows the exit, towards the nozzle, of the compressed air present in the compression chamber with the initial operation of the pump, thus allowing easy preparation of the pump itself.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the final stop of the piston is determined by the contact between the button and the bottom, while the cylindrical element 7 in which the seat of the suction valve is obtained, and the wall 140 that defines The seat of the supply valve, since they are quite delicate elements, never come into contact with each other.

This characteristic is extremely important since the final stop of the piston is achieved between two structurally rigid elements, and, therefore, the rim 11A of the piston, an extremely delicate part, never comes into contact with the bottom surface of the body in the form of glass (ie the 3D step), thus preventing deformations.

Preferably, in said embodiment, the first seat 9 is in an raised position with respect to the bottom of the cup-shaped body and protruding towards the supply valve 14/16. The seat 14 of the supply valve is, in turn, in a more raised position with respect to the sealing lip 11A of the piston.

From what has been described above, the operation of the invention is obvious to the person skilled in the art and there is no need to comment on it further since the pump shown in FIG. 1 is in a rest position and in FIG. End of travel position.

It should only be noted that during the stroke of the piston, the seal 22 separates from the annular nut or bottom, thereby allowing the external air to enter the container (ventilation), firstly through an annular groove that is created between the bottom (or annular) nut and the shank, continuing through the notch 26A obtained in the annular stop of the cup-shaped body 3.

In addition, the pump described above is extremely economical since it is obtained with a very limited number of molded parts in a suitable manner. The suitably molded parts (cup, shank / piston and mobile element 16) are all easily obtained by molding plastic material, while the rest of the components are commonly used in pumps. Therefore, they are usually present in the market and are easy to find.

Furthermore, the assembly of the pump is extremely simple, since it follows from the assembly procedure described hereinafter.

First, arranged in the work supports are the gasket 27 and later the cup-shaped body 3, which when inserted into the gasket deforms it slightly in such a way that it remains restricted therein.

The sphere is then placed in the first seat 9, and subsequently the return spring 10 is placed inside the cup-shaped body. It should be noted that the spring, simply cast into the cup-shaped body, is automatically positioned around the protrusion 7 protruding from the bottom of the cup-shaped body 3.

Then, the piston / stem is inserted into the cup-shaped body and the gasket 22 fits into the stem. At this point, the mobile element 16 is placed on the rod. It is oriented automatically and by virtue of its "functional symmetry" it does not matter if the opening of the light hole is directed upwards or downwards. In addition, the barrel shape, with the conical surfaces, makes the correct positioning in the seat 14 practically automatic. Subsequently, the main spring 18 is inserted. The gasket is placed and the bottom part 2 fits into the cup-shaped body, and beading 2c is carried out.

Finally, the dispensing button 19 is fitted on the stem, and the suction tube 5 is inserted into the suitable seat.

As can be seen from the operations described above, the assembly of the described pump is extremely simple. The considerable advantage obtained by the use of a spherule and a mobile element that can be automatically orientated, instead of other valve means, underlies obtaining an even faster assembly, which lowers the cost of the pump.

Finally, it should be noted that said pump is extremely reliable.

The particular start mechanism that allows contact between the movable element 16 and the sphere of the suction valve is very efficient and quite reliable.

In addition, the expulsion of air and an insignificant amount of product at the end of travel occurs in the natural direction of dispensing the substance contained in the container, thus preventing the onset of any kind of problem.

Furthermore, as can be seen in the drawings, the return spring is perfectly centered in the lower part by the protrusion 7 and in the upper part by the part projecting inside the chamber 15 of the seat 14 of the supply valve . This guarantees that, during the use of the pump, the spring always remains perfectly centered and in position, which increases the overall reliability of the pump.

It should also be noted that, in the present pump, the spherical of the suction valve in its operating movement is laterally limited by the return spring, in the upper part by the lower part of the seat of the supply valve, and in the lower part by the seat of the suction valve. Therefore, other protrusions, protrusions, tabs and the like would not be necessary in order to keep the sphere in position, with savings in the molding costs of the cup-shaped body. Advantageously, however, for safety purposes, small protrusions 9A are still obtained in the seat 9 of the suction valve. Said protrusions deform after the insertion of the sphere in its seat, and, in this case, they limit the sphere during the suction action, thus allowing the passage of the product flow that fills the compression chamber.

With reference to the particular configuration of the movable element 16 of the supply valve, it should be noted that the opening angle and the conical surface (which is, in reality, the angle formed by the intersection of two lines A and B parallel to or making stop against the external surface of the valve element 16, belong to and intersect in a plane containing the axis C of the valve element) allows the valve element 16 to be 'fitted' in its seat 14, which preferably has a similar shape (corresponding) to the conical shape of element 16.

The conical seal, which is achieved as a main spring 18, presses against the element 16, also as a function of time, providing a perfect seal of the valve that is not lost even when faced with intense reduced pressure tests.

Furthermore, the presence of the blind hole in the mobile element facilitates a very slight deformation of the conical walls of the mobile element itself, when it is inserted in the seat, further improving the capacity of 'joining'.

Due to the presence of the joint made between two conical surfaces, unlike what is produced for conventional ball valves, it is not necessary to equip the pump with a spring with a very high spring constant; this fully benefits the 'ease' of operating the button, which is evident after having exceeded a first force peak necessary to uncouple the joint.

As can be seen in figure 10, which shows the driving force for the next dispensing, said peak is much lower, once the pump has been operated for the first time.

The advantage obtained with the use of the conical coupling between the valve element 16 and the seat 14 is evident from the analysis of the graph present in figure 7, referred to a cone opening of 20 °.

As observed during the first dispensing of the pump (after having allowed it to rest for a period of time), it is necessary to exert a force with a peak of approximately 24.5 N (2.5 kgf), but that then it quickly descends to a value that remains around 14.7 N (1.5 kgf) (a totally acceptable value that provides a feeling of easy movement).

In order to verify the optimum opening of the conical surface, numerous tests were performed which showed that an opening of the conical surface of the movable element 16 which is comprised between 17 ° (figure 6) and 22 ° (figure 8) is the best , with an optimal value of 20 ° (figure 7). In fact, it is observed that, within these intervals, the maximum value determined by the fitting of the mobile element in the seat is around 24.5 N (2.5 kgf), which is an acceptable value (the force decreases with the increase of the opening angle).

On the contrary, it is observed that for higher opening values (such as 25 ° of Fig. 9), the fitting effect is not very accentuated and is practically unusable, while for excessively low opening values (such as 15). Figure 5) the moving element fits too well, which requires a force greater than 29.4 N (3 kgf), for the initial drive (which is intolerable).

Therefore, it has been verified that a coupling obtained with a movable element provided with a conical surface with an opening that oscillates between 22 ° and 17 °, with an optimum opening at 20 °, provides a mutual arrangement between vacuum sealing and ease of operation. pump drive.

Obviously, in the embodiments described above, the seat in which the movable element makes a seal can also be provided with a conical surface for coupling with the surface of the movable element; in such case, the opening of said surface will be equal to that of the mobile element or only slightly wider.

Various embodiments of the invention have been described, but other embodiments can be devised taking advantage of the same innovative concept.

Claims (14)

A manually operated pump (1) for dispensing a fluid substance contained within a container (6) to which said pump may be associated, the pump comprising a vessel-shaped body (3) provided at its bottom (3A) ) of an opening (4) that can be associated with a suction tube (5) inside said container and with a spherule (8) housed in a first seat (9) adapted to act as a suction valve, being able to a piston (11) sliding in a sealed manner inside the vessel-shaped body in opposition to a return spring (10), a hollow rod (12) extending from said piston, one end of said rod protruding to the outside of the piston. vessel shaped body, the hollow stem housing in a second seat (14) a moving element (16) of a supply valve (14/16) loaded by a spring (18), the pump having an annular bottom or nut ( 2) to be fixed to said container, the bottom being annular nut provided with a hole (2A) through which said rod passes and means for coupling with said vessel-shaped body, the movable element of the supply valve having a surface at least partially conical (14A) adapted to be coupled with a corresponding surface of said second seat, in such a way that due to the action of said spring, the movable element can be fitted in said second seat, characterized in that said at least partially conical surface (14A) has an opening (y) between 17 ° and 22 °. 2. Pump according to the preceding claim, wherein said at least partially conical surface has an opening (y) of 20 °. Pump according to claim 1, wherein also the surface of said seat is at least partially conical, with an opening comprised between 17 ° and 22 °, preferably 20 °. Pump according to claim 1, wherein said movable element has, in at least one end portion thereof, a step (16B) for connecting between a conical surface and a tapering portion thereof. Pump according to claim 1, wherein said movable element is functionally symmetrical with respect to a transverse plane (X) thereof, so as to carry out its function both in one direction and in the opposite direction. 6. Pump according to claim 1, wherein said movable element has an axial blind hole for lightening. Pump according to claim 1, wherein said first seat is in an raised position with respect to the bottom part of the vessel-shaped body and protruding towards the supply valve. Pump according to claim 7, in which said first seat is obtained in the upper part of an internally hollow cylindrical protrusion (7), which extends from the lower part of the vessel-shaped body. 9. The pump according to claim 1, wherein said first seat has a frusto-conical shape that converges towards the lower part of the vessel-shaped body. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the second seat is obtained in a part in which said rod is connected to said piston. Pump according to claim 1, in which the piston and the piston rod are made in one piece. Pump according to claim 1, wherein at a free end of the shank, a dispensing plug which acts as a stop for said main spring is fitted, said dispensing plug preferably having a spray nozzle. 13. Pump according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein on the external surface of the rod, in the vicinity of the piston, a seal (22) adapted to provide a seal when it is butted against said bottom or annular nut is fixed. . 14. Pump according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said bottom or ring nut is made by a plate formed of metallic material and said means for coupling with the cup-shaped body comprise a flange that cooperates with an annular stop obtained at a free end of said vessel-shaped body, and / or wherein said annular stop (26) has a notch (26A) adapted to allow the passage of air from the outside to the inside of the container, at least when said joint is separated from said annular nut, and / or in which the movement of the spherule is laterally limited by said return spring, on the upper part by the lower part of the seat of the supply valve, and on the lower part by the seat of the suction valve.